US Senate Passes DoD Renewable Energy Amendment

The US Defense Department has made great strides toward increasing its usage of renewable energy sources. In 2005, DOD generated over 8% of its electricity from renewable sources, and issued an internal memo urging pursuit of the goal of generating or acquiring 25% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

The US Senate passed a new amendment last week that would make this goal law. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and co-sponsored by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), is an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill and was passed Tuesday with unanimous consent. . .

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â€œAs the federal governmentâ€™s largest consumer of energy, the Defense Department can be at the vanguard of renewable energy consumption,â€ Menendez said. â€œThe federal government must lead by example if more American businesses and families are to increase their usage of renewable energy.â€

The Department of Defense is the federal governmentâ€™s most prolific user of electricity, using 55 percent of the governmentâ€™s total consumption. By using renewable sources of electricity, the Defense Department would greatly impact the governmentâ€™s overall demand for electricity. Renewable sources of energy include wind, solar, biomass, landfill gas, ocean, geothermal, municipal solid waste, and new hydroelectric generation capacity.